1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to stands for holding leaf bags. More specifically, it relates to a leaf bag stand characterized by a pair of ring members that engage and hold open the mouth of a leaf bag when said ring members are positioned in registration with one another.
2. Description of the prior art
Leaf bags are hard to work with because they are formed of very flexible material; in the absence of a mechanical aid, the simple process of loading a leaf bag with leaves, grass and the like can require two people, one of whom merely holds the mouth of the bag open.
Inventors, recognizing major inefficiency in leaf and grass collecting methods, have turned their attention to the problem presented by the flexible bags.
The devices invented over the years vary widely in their respective constructions, but they have a common characteristic: they employ a fixed position ring member that serves to hold the mouth of the bag open.
Numerous means have been developed and patented for accomplishing the attachment of the mouth of the bag to the ring member.
For example, one commercially available device includes the ever-present fixed diameter ring member supported by three circumferentially and equidistantly spaced upstanding leg members. The leg members are secured to the ring member by wing nuts, and the holder is used by inserting the mouth of the bag within the circle defined by the ring member, flaring the mouth of the bag radially outwardly and then downwardly, and impaling the bag on the wing nuts.
The devices of the prior art perform their intended function, but some of the devices, such as the popular device just discussed, do damage to the bags. Once torn slightly, leaf bags tend to rip apart quite easily, so any attachment means that includes a deliberate puncturing of the bag to be held open is contraindicated.
Some of the earlier devices are also over-engineered, i.e., they are complex, inelegent structures that are not economical to manufacture and thus are not affordable by consumers.
There is a need for a simple yet elegant design for a leaf bag holder that holds leaf bags in their upright position and holds them open in the absence of bag tearing, but the needed device does not appear in the art.